Back to the Beginning
by WithinTheStars358
Summary: Continuation of Hell to Pay.
1. Chapter 1

_Ring-ring!_ The shrill of the telephone ringing was the only thing that could be heard in Detective William Murdoch's home. Piercing through the silence of the early morning and startling the detective as it brought him back to consciousness.

It was nearly 4:30 in the morning, the sky was still pitch black outside with no hints of moon or sunlight within the darkness. _Who could be calling this early?_ Murdoch wondered to himself, somewhat annoyed, as he sat up and turned on the lamp by his bedside.

Part of him wanted to ignore the call and go back to sleep, but he knew anyone calling this early must have done so for a good reason. Still, as he walked down the dimly lit hall he felt a strange feeling within him.

He didn't know what it was, but he felt uneasy, something wasn't right. _Ignore the call, ignore the call..._ A voice inside him begged. But after more than fifteen years of policing he had gotten used to ignoring the voice in his head that warned him when danger was near, and curiosity took over as he picked up the telephone. Besides, what possible danger came from a phone call?

"Hello?" He answered, and in return a young ladies voice pierced into his ear.

"Detective Murdoch!" She exclaimed frantically, Murdoch recognized the voice immediately.

"Ms. Hall, are you alright?" He asked, Lydia Hall had become convinced her life was in danger after she apparently overheard Frank Williams and Robert Graham in an argument recently.

"Detective, I think someone was here." She said, she had lowered her voice as if scared someone may be listening. Murdoch could detect the fear she was obviously trying to hide.

"Why, did you see someone?" He asked.

"No, I woke up to what I thought sounded like footsteps. I turned on the light in my bedroom and asked if anyone was there when I heard something crash to the floor. That was when I called you." She explained in a shaky voice.

"Did you hear them leave? Did you check the rest of your home to see if they are gone?" The detective asked her.

"No, I was... too scared." She told him, he could have sworn she almost sounded embarrassed by this. He was just about to start asking another round of questions when Lydia's sudden shrieking interrupted him.

"Ms. Hall, Ms. Hall!" He yelled, hoping she was alright, when just as suddenly as the screams started they stopped. Murdoch could here her sigh of relief before she said,

"Don't worry Detective, it seems it was just my cat."

William closed his eyes and let out the breath he had been holding, then he rolled his eyes. A cat. Woken up at 4:30 for a _cat_. Still, with the recent events, he couldn't blame her for assuming the worst.

"Well, I'm glad you're alright. I take it you no longer need me?" He asked.

"No, thank you Detective, I'm sorry for awakening you." She said before hanging up.

Murdoch placed the telephone back and rubbed his eyes, he could have gone back to sleep and tried to get some extra rest before he would be needed at the station house. However after the shock of thinking he was about to witness a murder on the telephone, he no longer felt like sleeping.

Trying to make some good use of his extra time he walked back to his room and began getting ready for the day. Even as he did so, the strange feeling he had awoken with never left him.

Once he was dressed he decided to get some breakfast, but his plan was delayed by someone knocking on his door. As he approached the door he had a feeling he knew who it was, and his suspicions were confirmed when he opened the door and saw Lydia Hall standing there. She looked just as terrified as she had first sounded on the telephone.

"Ms. Hall, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I'm here for the same reason I called you earlier," she answered, Murdoch only raised an eyebrow at her.

"I thought the cause of your alarm was just your cat?" He asked her.

"That is what I thought Detective, but my cat certainly didn't leave my front door open and neither did I."

X X X

Murdoch was just in the next room from Lydia Hall, after he had let her in and tried asking her questions he could tell she was in no state to answer them. The poor woman seemed to be in shock, so Murdoch suggested she wait and calm down while he got her something to drink. Then she would be able to tell him everything she knew.

She didn't seem too happy about telling the Detective what she knew even though it really would be for her own good.

Nevertheless, she agreed.

However, while Murdoch was in the kitchen he realized that even if he was lucky enough to get information out of her once, she may not be willing to offer it again. Sharing valuable information in his living room was much different than sharing information in a court room, and Murdoch wasn't sure she would be willing to do that. But as always, William Murdoch had a solution.

As quickly and quietly as he could, he made his way to the place in his home where he kept various inventions. This time he was looking for a specific one, the same one he used to record the confession of a dying man in a hospital a few years ago. He pulled it off the shelf, extremely thankful he chose to bring this home instead of leaving it in his office at the station. He had carried it over and set it up next to the living room where Lydia waited, the recording may not sound perfect but it was enough to capture any important information she gave him.

A small pang of guilt hit him when he entered the room and saw Lydia sitting there. She was scared, who wouldn't be? _There was that feeling again._ But he pushed those feelings away and sat down on the couch, determined to get the full truth from Ms. Hall.

"My life is in danger." She said.

X X X

He wasn't awake, but he also wasn't fully unconscious. He could here something, voices? Yes, voices! They sounded familiar, he wanted to open his eyes but he was too exhausted and weak.

He had a horrible headache, his head was pounding and he felt as if someone was hitting him with a hammer. For all he knew maybe someone had.

The people must have been nearing him for their voices sounded clearer. There were two men, he was sure of that, and he could make out some of their conversation as well.

"The girl... dead... Detective... machine... recording... take... police... leave... now..." It wasn't everything but it was enough for Murdoch to know what was going on.

Finally when he found the strength to open his eyes and somewhat sit up, was also when he saw her there. Lying beside him. Dead. He should have listened to her, the minute she told him she wanted to get out of the city he should have believed her.

But there was no going back now.

There it was, the distinctive sound of someone banging on his front door. " _Open up, Murdoch!"_

No, that sounded like Williams, and Murdoch knew the moment Williams saw the mess he had gotten himself into- all that would be left to do would be to wait for the noose. He wouldn't let that happen.

Jumping out of bed, Murdoch sprinted to the same location he had placed the recording device only hours before. Of course it wasn't there, there was no way they would leave the biggest piece of evidence behind for Murdoch to find. It if it wasn't in his home than there was only one place it could be: with Williams and Graham. Murdoch weighed the options in his mind; turn himself in and get hanged for a crime he didn't commit- or find the evidence he needed to be exonerated himself.

 _Option two it is,_ he thought as he raced to the back door.


	2. Chapter 2

Sipping from a wine glass, watching the city blow her, Dr. Julia Ogden was enjoying the view from her hotel room.

She had arrived in Chicago with Ms. James the day before to attend a medical conference she had been invited to a few weeks earlier. Knowing how much it would mean to the young woman, Julia had secured an invitation for Rebecca too.

She hadn't been wrong in assuming that Ms. James would be happy about it, she had probably enjoyed the whole first part of their trip much more than Julia had. She didn't know why, but ever since she left Toronto the previous day she had felt... distracted? No, uneasy was more like it, and unfortunately she hadn't felt much better upon waking.

The second part of their conference did not start until later that afternoon, Rebecca had asked Dr. Ogden if she would like to accompany her as she explored the City, but Julia declined. In her current state, she didn't think she would be good company. Luckily Rebecca didn't seem to mind as she was still just happy to have been invited along.

 _Ring ring!_ Placing her glass on the small table, Julia picked up the telephone. "Hello," she answered, and was met by a familiar voice.

"Dr. Ogden," Inspector Thomas Brackenreid's voice greeted her.

"Oh hello Inspector, what can I do for you?" Julia asked, slightly surprised by the call.

"Listen Doctor, there's no easy way to say this," he started. Already concerned by the tone of his voice, she asked,

"Is everything alright?" She didn't know why she bothered asking when she was almost sure of the answer.

"I wish I could say otherwise, but, no. Ms. Lydia Hall has been murdered. She was found dead in your bed with your husband, and all the evidence is leading to Murdoch as the killer. Now it appears he's run away to escape the noose and soon Chief Constable Davis will have the entire constabulary after him."

Julia didn't know what to say, what to think. _This can't be true, it can't be..._ It sounded like the Inspector was about to start talking again, but if she heard anything more about the matter she thought she might go crazy."I'm coming home." She interrupted him, she didn't know why she said it so defensively, as if he would object to this.

"Of course, I'll tell you everything when you get back. I'm sorry, Doctor." With that, he hung up.

Julia didn't waste any time. She immediately started packing her things and when that task was done she called to inform the other members of the conference that she would have to go home early. She had just hung up and was preparing to go to the train station to buy a ticket home when a knock came from the door. Realizing it must have been Rebecca, ready to go to the conference, Julia willed herself to calm down before she had to explain what happened back home to her. Rebecca was smiling so brightly when she opened the door that she managed a small smile in return.

"How was the city?" She asked.

"Oh it was amazing! You should have seen- what's wrong, are you alright?" Rebecca's voice turned concerned, within a matter of seconds Julia had gone from smiling to looking like she was going to cry.

X X X

Julia was pacing, she was back in her own home but just thinking of everything that happened there just days before did little to calm her nerves.

She had gotten back to Toronto the previous day and went straight to the police station, she had hoped to find Brackenreid and have him explain what was going on first but she was stopped by the Chief Constable to be interrogated.

Rebecca was still in Chicago but would begin her journey back to Toronto some time today. After Julia told her of what happened with William, she offered to come back with Julia right away, but Julia declined. She didn't want to ruin the trip for her, and just reminded Rebecca that she would be coming home a day later anyway. Rebecca seemed hesitant, but chose to stay in Chicago for the rest of the conference.

As Julia continued pacing she felt like something was different in her home. Of course it could have just been the knowledge of knowing what happened here just days before that was bothering her, but she searched her home regardless. Finally she found what had been troubling her, and when she did it almost seemed silly. There was a closet door open half way.

However as she walked across the room to close it she realized there was something wrong. It was the closet that her husband kept some of his most ingenious inventions in, but there was one empty spot right near the middle that was empty.

Scanning the contents of the closet and trying to remember what had been in William's office when she was at the station earlier, she realized what was missing. It was the device he used to record things. Could it really be a coincidence it was now missing from a crime scene?

All of a sudden Julia couldn't stand being inside her home anymore, for that's all it felt like. A crime scene.

Letting her feet direct her while her mind wandered, she didn't know where she was actually going until she reached the city morgue. Maybe there was something wrong in feeling safer in a morgue than her own home, but she didn't really care.

Julia needed to do something, she couldn't just leave William's disappearance in the hands of Chief Constable Davis. If someone had a grudge against her husband it was likely someone related to a past case. Thankful that for once she could be certain James Gillies wasn't involved, she got busy flipping through the files of all the cases she had worked on with William.

Minutes of reading soon turned into hours, there weren't many people she thought would be inclined to frame him for murder, but she had a small list of people. However she hadn't looked at everything yet, she got up and walked back to the small storage room in the corner of the morgue where most of her files had been kept.

It wasn't until she was inside the room that she heard voices coming from back in the morgue.

"-need to find her!" Said a man.

"I know, but what do we do with her after that? We- we aren't going to kill her, are we?" Asked another man, Julia's pulse quickened, were they talking about her?

"No, Williams! She's our bait, we can't kill her, we need her to draw in the Detective." The first man exclaimed.

 _Wait_ , Julia realized, _Williams, Frank Williams?_

"I don't think she's here, the place is empty," Williams said in what sounded like a slightly relieved tone.

Julia held her breath as she heard them walk past the room, and quietly let it out when they didn't think to check for her inside. After a few moments of silence, Williams spoke again.

"What do we do after we get the Detective, kill them both?"

"No, I'm sure we can find a good use for her, the Detective however, will not be so lucky. Now go wait for me at 27 Jarvis while I find the Doctor. And if we can't find her, we'll just have to go after the Detective and kill him ourselves." With that, the two men hurried out of the morgue.

Julia couldn't believe what she had just heard, slowly, she creeped out of the room and waited to be sure they were really gone, and thankfully they were.

She started pacing, not sure what to do. They were going to kill her husband. She had already suspected as much, but to hear this come out of their own mouths... and what were they going to do with her? She wasn't sure she even wanted to know.

But the more she walked helplessly around the morgue, and the more thinking she did, she realized if she still wanted to help William there was only one way she could, and it involved going with Williams and Graham.

If they had her, they would be too busy making sure she wasn't planning on escaping that they wouldn't go after William. They would just be waiting for him to come get her, but what they wouldn't know is that she would have told the Detective of all of this beforehand.

She would make sure he knew not to go find her, but to find whatever it was he needed to prove he had not killed Lydia. After he showed the rest of the constabulary who the true murderers were, they would all come arrest the real killers and save her.

Julia knew her husband, he wouldn't just completely go into hiding with out staying in contact with someone. And she had a feeling she knew who that someone was.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Plesse George, he needs to read this." Julia said to the Constable. She had written a small letter for William explaining what she had learned, and she had just finished asking George if he could find some way to deliver it from him.

"Alright... I'll try my best." He agreed, wondering what on earth was this important.

"Thank you, George," she said and smiled at him. With that, she began her journey back to her own home, where she knew Williams and Graham would soon be waiting.


	3. Chapter 3

"Sorry, excuse me…" Rebecca James said as she made her way through the busy train station, keeping her bags as close to her as she could so as to take up as little space possible in the cramped building.

Sighing with relief as soon as she seemed to escape the worst of the crowds, she was able to find an empty bench to sit on. In just a few long hours, she would be home.

 _Home, Dr. Ogden, Detective Murdoch…_

Rebecca knew Dr. Ogden wanted her to stay in Chicago for the remainder of the trip but part of her still felt guilty for staying while something so horrible was happening to the family that had been nothing but good to her ever since they met. She wanted to do whatever she could to help them, but she knew all she could do now was to wait here until she could board the train, and hope she would even manage to make it to her train on time through all these people. Really, was every person in the city here?

It was busy when she and Dr. Ogden had arrived on Monday, but today there were swarms of press everywhere, making it even harder to navigate. She supposed someone important was there but she didn't care. All she cared about right now was that Detective Murdoch was being suspected of murdering the dancer girl, Lydia Hall, after she was found dead in their home. Detective Murdoch went on the run, and no new news had reached her yet. How could this have happened, less than two weeks ago she and Lydia had been in a roller skating competition together, and now everyone believes Dr. Ogden's husband killed her?

It was crazy, but unfortunately it was all true.

Suddenly, the noise of hundreds of passengers hurrying about grew louder with what sounded like shrieks of fear. Rebecca craned her neck to look around and see what was going on, not two seconds later a deafening boom rattled the building, passengers screamed as they fell to the floor, and thick clouds of black smoke began traveling through the building.

Rebecca's heart beat so fast it felt like it would jump out of her chest, but she didn't let herself acknowledge the fear inside her as she grabbed her skirt in her hand and began running with everyone else. However it wasn't an easy task, and soon it was nearly impossible to move faster than a few small steps at a time due to the huge stampede of people trying to evacuate all at once.

The smoke in the air was growing, and the fire was spreading through the building, a loud groan of wood on the ceiling somewhere behind her was the only warning it gave before it collapsed. Rebecca knew everyone hadn't been able to move out of the way before it happened, and the thought made her feel sick.

The heat only rose between the flames and bodies, but after what felt like a thousand years of being trapped, Rebecca soon reached the exit and gasped as a gust of cool March wind welcomed her outside.

There were plenty of fire men at the scene, trying their best to put out the blaze. The explosion had come from just outside the back of the building, sending the entire back wall and a train into flames first. There would be no traveling back to Toronto today, that was for certain. Distancing herself from the horrible scene, she took a deep breath.

She knew the amount of time she had spent inside the building had not been good by any means, but not long enough to do her any serious damage. Not wanting to stick around and be asked millions of questions by the city officials and the press, she decided walking back to the Main Street her and Dr. Ogden had been staying on and finding somewhere to spend the night was her best bet. However as she continued walking further away from the crime scene, she had a strange feeling she was being followed.

Just to prove her point, Rebecca started taking a longer route into the city, and three back alleys, four small streets, and two pointless turns later, the faint sound of foot steps behind her never disappeared. Forcing her heart beat to even out, she walked into yet another alley way, except this time she grabbed what looked to be an old pipe off the floor and swung backwards.

The lady who had been following her took a sharp breath of air and ducked just in time. She lunged for Rebecca but she darted out of the way, leaving the girl to fall to the filthy ground. However the stranger wasn't giving up just yet, for this time she successfully reached for Rebecca and grabbed the back of her dress with one hand while reaching into her pocket with the other.

Rebecca grunted as she hit the ground but spun around just as her follower pulled a gun out from her pocket. Eyes widening in horror, she kicked the girls hand as hard as she could, the girl winced and the gun slipped from her grasp. Rebecca shoved the lady further away and grabbed the gun for herself. Standing up and pointing the gun at the other woman she demanded, "Who are you?"

"I could ask you the same question!" The women huffed as she tried getting up but scrunched her face up in pain when she tried using the hand Rebecca had kicked the gun out of.

"Why were you following me?" Rebecca yelled angrily.

"You can put that gun away. I wasn't going to hurt you but you attacked first, and since you didn't mind playing dirty than neither did I." She said, and successfully made it to her feet. However once she did and Rebecca saw her face, she slowly lowered the weapon.

"Freddie Pink?" She asked, stunned as she realized her follower was the private detective and friend of Detective Murdoch and Dr. Ogden. Ms. Pink's eyes narrowed in surprise.

"Rebecca James. Well I must say, this is an interesting turn of events," she said shaking her head.

"Why were you following me?" Rebecca still wanted to know.

"I was here investigating a trail of disappearances and murders. I went to the train station to talk to my top suspect but when I got there half the place was on fire and the police were saying there was an explosion. The minute I saw you sneaking away from the crime scene I thought I had found the perpetrator. So tell me this, what were you doing running from the scene of the crime?" Ms. Pink asked, and Rebecca realized with embarrassment that she must have looked guilty to anyone who saw her leave.

"I was supposed to be traveling back to Toronto today but after almost being scared and burned to death, I admit I wasn't in the mood to stick around and tell a bunch policemen and press what I saw. I decided to leave and try to find a place to stay for the night. Except while I was walking, I realized someone was following me which was why I attacked you in the alley. I'm sorry about you're hand, are you alright?" Rebecca asked, starting to feel bad for that.

"It should be fine," Ms. Pink said with a small smile as she stretched her fingers out. "Anyway, this wasn't exactly the reunion I thought we'd have eventually. How are you, what are you doing in Chicago, and can I have my gun back now?" Ms. Pink asked, her left hand out. Rebecca returned it and answered her as they began walking.

"Good, thank you. I was attending a medical conference with Dr. Ogden but she had to return home early do to what happened to the Detective when- wait, have you heard of what happened to Detective Murdoch?" Rebecca asked.

"No. My god, what's happened? Are he and the Doctor in trouble?" Ms. Pink asked, growing anxious by the look on Rebecca's face.

"I wish I could say otherwise but no, Detective Murdoch is indeed in trouble…" Rebecca quickly explained all that she knew of the situation in Toronto.

"Strangled, you say?" Ms. Pink asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes, do you know something about this?" She asked, her voice rising.

"Come with me, I think there is something you would like to see." Ms. Pink said and dashed down the street.

Ms. Pink's hotel room was just a few blocks away from Rebecca's old hotel. However as they walked inside Rebecca could see it was more of a suite. Ms. Pink had clearly been living here for some time, and by the looks of it, she hadn't been living alone. This was a surprise to Rebecca, sure she had been alone when they had first met in Toronto.

"A few weeks ago I took an urgent case from a desperate man in Colorado. He decided to take a stand against his company when he found out they had illegally employed orphans. The issue itself was sorted out, but the man was convinced the city officials he worked for still held a grudge against what he did and were trying to kill him. No one would believed him, so he secretly hired me to go to Colorado and have a look around. However when we, my partner and I, arrived, he was missing and his body was found a few days later in the street, tarred and feathered. I started digging and it led me on a trail of cases involving murders and disappearances, all involving someone who in some way proved to be a threat to a political standard. However the way I found out they were connected was because each of the victims were strangled, much like your Lydia Hall, and found three days later with a different staged cause of death. It appears the most public occurrences have been that of my Colorado client and Hall. I had no idea this thread of incidents had spread to Canada as well." Freddie said.

Rebecca couldn't believe all that she's learned. For the first time all day, she was truly happy she had been stopped from going home.

"The women found with the detective was strangled, and in this case the "cause of death" was made out to be a lover's dispute. If we can show this proof of similar cases going on even across the border, we could prove this is the work of a hired killer and Detective Murdoch was indeed set up." Rebecca explained her idea eagerly.

"Yes, but there is one problem with the latest case. In all of the American cases, the victims were found three-four days after death. Lydia Hall was found the same day, was she not?" Ms. Pink asked.

"I don't know when they established her time of death." Rebecca told her.

"I believe Ms. Hall was killed in that home, that day. All of the murders have been so perfectly planned, I don't think whoever is behind them would risk their work by sneaking a three day old body through a hotel. If the case involving Detective Murdoch has even this small difference it could be used against him." Freddie reasoned.

"Or not. Before this happened to Lydia, he was working on a murder of a construction worker who fought for a strike against his company. I recall he believed a councilman was involved. If he got too close to learning the truth, they could have killed this girl for the sole purpose of setting him up." Rebecca told her.

"We need to bring in this information. So it's settled, tomorrow we will leave for Toronto. You are welcome to spend the night here, I'm sure Llewelyn won't mind. I can't wait to tell him all of this, he should be back any minute." Freddie exclaimed, and as if on queue, the door opened.

"Freddie, are you here?" The man called out as he hung up his jacket and took off his hat.

Rebecca noticed something familiar about him too,

"Detective Watts?" She asked. The Detective looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Rebecca James! Excuse me if I sound rude, but what on earth are you doing here?" He asked her, though the initial shock on his face was soon taken over by a surprised smile. Rebecca thought she could ask him the same question.

The last she heard of him was that he had taken an extended leave of absence from the constabulary to tend to some personal matters. This had happened soon after the case involving his sister and the other missing women of Toronto. To see him here living with Freddie Pink was surprising to say the least. However after the day she had, she figured she should have been used to surprises.

"Llewelyn!" Freddie said with a smile and rushed over give the Detective a kiss. He smiled back at her.

"I'll take it your day went much better than mine?" He asked.

"I didn't find anything helpful over at the station, but it seems you did." He commented, turning his attention back to Rebecca.

"I promise we will fill you in right away, but first, start packing anything you won't be needing tonight or tomorrow. It's time we head back to Toronto," she announced with a sparkle of excitement in her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

By Thursday night, Rebecca James, Freddie Pink, and Llewelyn Watts had arrived in Toronto. Their entire day was spent traveling into the country side to the nearest train station, and from there they made their way back into Toronto. As soon as they got off the train they rushed outside and waited for a carriage to take them to the station house, where they planned to discuss what they had found with Inspector Brackenreid. Freddie hadn't let the bag containing all the evidence and files she had collected on her cases out of site the entire time, and almost attacked one of the attendants who touched it back in Chicago. When they reached station house #4 they walked straight to the back and Rebecca knocked on the Inspector's door. However, before anyone could answer, a gruff voice from behind them demanded, "What do you want?"

"Chief Constable Davis," Watts said in astonishment. "You're back," he finished.

"Indeed, not that it's any of your concern. Now I already asked you, what do you lot want?" He asked again.

"We came to speak to Inspector Brackenreid, sir. Is he here?" Freddie asked.

"Why, I suppose you haven't heard. Brackenreid lost his job this morning. So if you have any information for this station house you'll have to report it to me from now on." Davis said, eyeing the group in front of him.

"That's alright, sir. This information really is for, _Mr.,_ Brackenreid's ears, and quite frankly, not yours. I think it's time for us to leave, goodnight, Sir." Watts replied, trying to hide his smile as the Chief Constables face lit up in anger. With that, the three walked back outside.

"What did you mean in there when you said, 'you're back,'" Freddie asked as soon as they were a small distance away from the station.

"About a year or so ago, he lost his position and had to take up a job at City Records. Somehow I don't think it's a coincidence that he got his job back at the same time all of this is going on." Watts replied.

"What do we do now, try to find the Inspector- er, late Inspector?" Freddie asked. Do either of you know where he lives?"

"No, but I have an idea. We should go see Dr. Ogden. She deserves to know what we found more than anyone, and she knows Detective Murdoch better than anyone too. Perhaps he and she have kept in contact, or maybe she just knows something that could help us decide how to go about handling this. Plus, I suspect that being married to the Detective and working so closely with the station house, she may know how to help us find Brackenreid." Rebecca suggested.

"That may be our best bet right now," Freddie commented.

"Alright then, Ms. James, lead the way," Detective Watts said, gesturing to the city ahead of them.

X X X

"Are we sure she's not home?" Freddie asked after the second time Rebecca knocked on the door with no answer.

"I don't know where else she would be at this time, we already checked the morgue," Rebecca replied, remembering their failed attempt to find her there first.

"So the wife of Detective Murdoch just happens to go missing during all of this?" Detective Watts asked.

"We don't know she's missing," Freddie pointed out.

"No, but with everything that's happened recently, she could be lying on the other side of this door dead for all we know." Watts said.

"You don't think that's true, do you?" Rebecca asked quickly.

"There is only one way to find out," Watts replied, and kicked down the door. Once again, silence answered them. The three slowly crept inside.

"Look, her coat and hat are still here," Freddie told the others.

"And a cup of tea on the table, still full," Rebecca added.

"She was taken, no question about it. Probably by whoever killed the dancer and set up the detective." Watts concluded.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" Rebecca asked, she couldn't believe this. Why, of all the people in the world, did this have to happen to the Murdoch's?

"I think I have a plan, I just need to go make a quick call," Watts said and walked over to the telephone in the next room. Rebecca and Freddie looked at each other, wondering just what this plan was. In a few minutes he reentered the room.

"That was Detective Linden, we worked cases together back when I was still employed at station house #1, however I heard he first started out at station #4. I assumed he knew the Inspector and I was right, he was able to give us an address. Let's get going, we shouldn't waste a second." He said.

X X X

Before they even had to go up the walkway to the Brackenreid home, a worried looking lady rushed out of the door and met Freddie, Rebecca, and Watts on the porch steps.

"You, you worked for my husband. Do you know where he is?" She asked Watts quickly.

"No, ma'am. I'm afraid we were coming here to speak with him, has something happened?" Detective Watts asked.

"No, not yet. But I'm worried something bad might happen soon, why do you wish to speak with him?" She asked.

"It's about new information we found on the case your husband was working on before he was fired. Do you know about it?" Watts asked her.

"He told me of it. Only that Detective Murdoch was set up by some councilmen, and that yesterday his wife was kidnapped. Today, around ten in the morning, he returned home to tell me that… that _monster,_ Davis, had fired him. However he also said that even though he wasn't on the job, he wasn't going to leave the case in the hands of the Chief Constable, and he had promised Murdoch he would find his wife.

"He wanted to go straight away and I begged him not to leave- to take more time and think this through- but he said the longer he waited the more innocent people would suffer. He told me he would try to be home sometime tonight, but there was no guarantee because he didn't know how far this chase would take him. He made me promise that the only police I would tell if he didn't return home in two days would be Constable Crabtree, but seeing as you are here with information with him… I suppose you three can be trusted.

"I know he said this could potentially take longer than anticipated, but I'm just worried about him. He doesn't even have a weapon with him in case he runs into trouble, he was in such a rush to get back out there he accidently switched jackets when he left again. I found his gun in the one he wore home from work when I went to move it," she said, tears growing in her eyes.

"Don't worry, we will try our best to help him. But we need you to think, did he say where he was going? Maybe where he suspected they were keeping Dr. Ogden?" Rebecca reassured her.

"He didn't say. Only that he knew it was the same men, Williams and Graham, that took her. And he wouldn't be surprised if Davis was involved as well." Mrs. Brackenreid answered. "Although he did come home with some papers, the only ones he was able to bring back without Davis finding out, I suppose. Probably just the different files and evidence from the case, but I know he was reading some of them before he left. You can take a look at them if you want." She added.

"Thank you, that sounds perfect." Freddie answered for all of them, and they all followed Mrs. Brackenreid up the stairs and into the home.

"This is it," she announced when they made it to a small desk cluttered with paper.

"Hey, look at this. It is a list of the different properties these men were in charge of constructing. It seems three of them aren't owned by anyone yet, they would be perfect places to hide the Doctor." Freddie exclaimed and showed the others the papers she had found at the top of the pile.

"What should we do, split up to search the houses and meet up again later?" Rebecca asked.

"A good idea, but you don't have a weapon to defend yourself with." Watts pointed out.

"Actually, you do. Thomas's gun is still here, remember?" Mrs. Brackenreid said and walked into the next room to retrieve it. "Here you go," she said and passed it to her.

"Do you know how to use it?" Freddie asked.

"Yes, I used to go hunting with my brothers. We usually used rifles, but I know how to work one of these." Rebecca informed the others.

"Wonderful. Mrs. Brackenreid, thank you so much." Freddie said to the woman, she smiled at the three of them. "Do me a favor? If you find Thomas and he is okay, let me know as soon as you can." She requested.

"Of course. Now, Ms. James will take Jarvis, Freddie will take Fergus and McFadden, and I will take Wellesley. Good night, Mrs. Brackenreid, thank you again." Watts said, the others said their last thank you's before they all left the house.

"Alright, there is an abandoned wear house on Church Street. Should we meet there?" Rebecca suggested.

"Alright," Freddie answered.

"Perfect, now let's just hope we can find them." Watts said before they all split up.

X X X

Rebecca's heart beat in her chest as she neared the house. She had been running on adrenaline for the past day as it seemed every turn she took brought her to more bad news regarding the Detective, doctor, and now Inspector.

Taking a deep breath as she reached the door, she was fully prepared to have to pick the lock when it just creaked open at the touch of her hand. Swallowing back the fear and hope that she had indeed found where her friend was being kept, she quietly walked inside. Not daring to speak until she knew just who was in this house with her, she snuck through the parlor as quickly as possible- and that was when voices could finally be heard.

As she walked into the entrance of yet another room, already pulling her pistol out to defend herself, her mouth dropped open at the scene she had walked in on. Just steps away from her there was a man with a gun pointed at Brackenreid's head.

She didn't know what to do, or what to feel. However, the sound of the bullet moving into place in his gun was enough to snap her out of her thoughts. "No!" She screamed in sudden terror, and before she could think twice about it, readied her own gun and shot at the man while the Inspector dove to the floor.

The shot left her ear's ringing, her hands trembling in front of her, and tears started to form in her eyes as she watched the man in front of her.

Watched as he screamed in agony as the bullet went inside of him.

Watched as he collapsed to the floor gasping for breath.

Watched as blood poured out of the wound in his back.

And watched as the man took one last strangling breath before he stopped breathing.

"Ms. James… I… thank you. Are you alright?" Brackenreid's voice asked as he came to stand beside her. The pistol clattered to the floor and Rebecca quickly began checking for the man's pulse but none could be found. Tears started sliding down her cheeks, no matter what he was about to do to Brackenreid, she never meant to harm anyone. She never meant to kill- a loud sob echoed through the quiet house as Rebecca brought her hands to her face. _What have I done?_ She thought.

"Ms. James, I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now, but we need to get out of here." The Inspector warned her, Rebecca stood but her legs were shaking. Her whole body was. "Good, good. Now, I'm not going to ask how you knew I'd be here, but I will ask you if you know where we should go." He remained talking to her in the calm, steady voice.

"His body-" she chocked out but was stopped by the Inspector.

"I don't like leaving it like that either, but he is- was, a dangerous man. However there are more like him, and soon they will realize something has gone wrong. We need to leave before they find us here and we both end up like him. Now, we need to get out of here and-"

"The wear house. There is a wear house on Church St, others will be there waiting for us." Rebecca managed to remember.

"Alright, to Church Street it is."


	5. Chapter 5

"Sorry, excuse me…" Rebecca James said as she made her way through the busy train station, keeping her bags as close to her as she could so as to take up as little space possible in the cramped building.

Sighing with relief as soon as she seemed to escape the worst of the crowds, she was able to find an empty bench to sit on. In just a few long hours, she would be home.

 _Home, Dr. Ogden, Detective Murdoch…_

Rebecca knew Dr. Ogden wanted her to stay in Chicago for the remainder of the trip but part of her still felt guilty for staying while something so horrible was happening to the family that had been nothing but good to her ever since they met. She wanted to do whatever she could to help them, but she knew all she could do now was to wait here until she could board the train, and hope she would even manage to make it to her train on time through all these people. Really, was every person in the city here?

It was busy when she and Dr. Ogden had arrived on Monday, but today there were swarms of press everywhere, making it even harder to navigate. She supposed someone important was there but she didn't care. All she cared about right now was that Detective Murdoch was being suspected of murdering the dancer girl, Lydia Hall, after she was found dead in their home. Detective Murdoch went on the run, and no new news had reached her yet. How could this have happened, less than two weeks ago she and Lydia had been in a roller skating competition together, and now everyone believes Dr. Ogden's husband killed her?

It was crazy, but unfortunately it was all true.

Suddenly, the noise of hundreds of passengers hurrying about grew louder with what sounded like shrieks of fear. Rebecca craned her neck to look around and see what was going on, not two seconds later a deafening boom rattled the building, passengers screamed as they fell to the floor, and thick clouds of black smoke began traveling through the building.

Rebecca's heart beat so fast it felt like it would jump out of her chest, but she didn't let herself acknowledge the fear inside her as she grabbed her skirt in her hand and began running with everyone else. However it wasn't an easy task, and soon it was nearly impossible to move faster than a few small steps at a time due to the huge stampede of people trying to evacuate all at once.

The smoke in the air was growing, and the fire was spreading through the building, a loud groan of wood on the ceiling somewhere behind her was the only warning it gave before it collapsed. Rebecca knew everyone hadn't been able to move out of the way before it happened, and the thought made her feel sick.

The heat only rose between the flames and bodies, but after what felt like a thousand years of being trapped, Rebecca soon reached the exit and gasped as a gust of cool March wind welcomed her outside.

There were plenty of fire men at the scene, trying their best to put out the blaze. The explosion had come from just outside the back of the building, sending the entire back wall and a train into flames first. There would be no traveling back to Toronto today, that was for certain. Distancing herself from the horrible scene, she took a deep breath.

She knew the amount of time she had spent inside the building had not been good by any means, but not long enough to do her any serious damage. Not wanting to stick around and be asked millions of questions by the city officials and the press, she decided walking back to the Main Street her and Dr. Ogden had been staying on and finding somewhere to spend the night was her best bet. However as she continued walking further away from the crime scene, she had a strange feeling she was being followed.

Just to prove her point, Rebecca started taking a longer route into the city, and three back alleys, four small streets, and two pointless turns later, the faint sound of foot steps behind her never disappeared. Forcing her heart beat to even out, she walked into yet another alley way, except this time she grabbed what looked to be an old pipe off the floor and swung backwards.

The lady who had been following her took a sharp breath of air and ducked just in time. She lunged for Rebecca but she darted out of the way, leaving the girl to fall to the filthy ground. However the stranger wasn't giving up just yet, for this time she successfully reached for Rebecca and grabbed the back of her dress with one hand while reaching into her pocket with the other.

Rebecca grunted as she hit the ground but spun around just as her follower pulled a gun out from her pocket. Eyes widening in horror, she kicked the girls hand as hard as she could, the girl winced and the gun slipped from her grasp. Rebecca shoved the lady further away and grabbed the gun for herself. Standing up and pointing the gun at the other woman she demanded, "Who are you?"

"I could ask you the same question!" The women huffed as she tried getting up but scrunched her face up in pain when she tried using the hand Rebecca had kicked the gun out of.

"Why were you following me?" Rebecca yelled angrily.

"You can put that gun away. I wasn't going to hurt you but you attacked first, and since you didn't mind playing dirty than neither did I." She said, and successfully made it to her feet. However once she did and Rebecca saw her face, she slowly lowered the weapon.

"Freddie Pink?" She asked, stunned as she realized her follower was the private detective and friend of Detective Murdoch and Dr. Ogden. Ms. Pink's eyes narrowed in surprise.

"Rebecca James. Well I must say, this is an interesting turn of events," she said shaking her head.

"Why were you following me?" Rebecca still wanted to know.

"I was here investigating a trail of disappearances and murders. I went to the train station to talk to my top suspect but when I got there half the place was on fire and the police were saying there was an explosion. The minute I saw you sneaking away from the crime scene I thought I had found the perpetrator. So tell me this, what were you doing running from the scene of the crime?" Ms. Pink asked, and Rebecca realized with embarrassment that she must have looked guilty to anyone who saw her leave.

"I was supposed to be traveling back to Toronto today but after almost being scared and burned to death, I admit I wasn't in the mood to stick around and tell a bunch policemen and press what I saw. I decided to leave and try to find a place to stay for the night. Except while I was walking, I realized someone was following me which was why I attacked you in the alley. I'm sorry about you're hand, are you alright?" Rebecca asked, starting to feel bad for that.

"It should be fine," Ms. Pink said with a small smile as she stretched her fingers out. "Anyway, this wasn't exactly the reunion I thought we'd have eventually. How are you, what are you doing in Chicago, and can I have my gun back now?" Ms. Pink asked, her left hand out. Rebecca returned it and answered her as they began walking.

"Good, thank you. I was attending a medical conference with Dr. Ogden but she had to return home early do to what happened to the Detective when- wait, have you heard of what happened to Detective Murdoch?" Rebecca asked.

"No. My god, what's happened? Are he and the Doctor in trouble?" Ms. Pink asked, growing anxious by the look on Rebecca's face.

"I wish I could say otherwise but no, Detective Murdoch is indeed in trouble…" Rebecca quickly explained all that she knew of the situation in Toronto.

"Strangled, you say?" Ms. Pink asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes, do you know something about this?" She asked, her voice rising.

"Come with me, I think there is something you would like to see." Ms. Pink said and dashed down the street.

Ms. Pink's hotel room was just a few blocks away from Rebecca's old hotel. However as they walked inside Rebecca could see it was more of a suite. Ms. Pink had clearly been living here for some time, and by the looks of it, she hadn't been living alone. This was a surprise to Rebecca, sure she had been alone when they had first met in Toronto.

"A few weeks ago I took an urgent case from a desperate man in Colorado. He decided to take a stand against his company when he found out they had illegally employed orphans. The issue itself was sorted out, but the man was convinced the city officials he worked for still held a grudge against what he did and were trying to kill him. No one would believed him, so he secretly hired me to go to Colorado and have a look around. However when we, my partner and I, arrived, he was missing and his body was found a few days later in the street, tarred and feathered. I started digging and it led me on a trail of cases involving murders and disappearances, all involving someone who in some way proved to be a threat to a political standard. However the way I found out they were connected was because each of the victims were strangled, much like your Lydia Hall, and found three days later with a different staged cause of death. It appears the most public occurrences have been that of my Colorado client and Hall. I had no idea this thread of incidents had spread to Canada as well." Freddie said.

Rebecca couldn't believe all that she's learned. For the first time all day, she was truly happy she had been stopped from going home.

"The women found with the detective was strangled, and in this case the "cause of death" was made out to be a lover's dispute. If we can show this proof of similar cases going on even across the border, we could prove this is the work of a hired killer and Detective Murdoch was indeed set up." Rebecca explained her idea eagerly.

"Yes, but there is one problem with the latest case. In all of the American cases, the victims were found three-four days after death. Lydia Hall was found the same day, was she not?" Ms. Pink asked.

"I don't know when they established her time of death." Rebecca told her.

"I believe Ms. Hall was killed in that home, that day. All of the murders have been so perfectly planned, I don't think whoever is behind them would risk their work by sneaking a three day old body through a hotel. If the case involving Detective Murdoch has even this small difference it could be used against him." Freddie reasoned.

"Or not. Before this happened to Lydia, he was working on a murder of a construction worker who fought for a strike against his company. I recall he believed a councilman was involved. If he got too close to learning the truth, they could have killed this girl for the sole purpose of setting him up." Rebecca told her.

"We need to bring in this information. So it's settled, tomorrow we will leave for Toronto. You are welcome to spend the night here, I'm sure Llewelyn won't mind. I can't wait to tell him all of this, he should be back any minute." Freddie exclaimed, and as if on queue, the door opened.

"Freddie, are you here?" The man called out as he hung up his jacket and took off his hat.

Rebecca noticed something familiar about him too,

"Detective Watts?" She asked. The Detective looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Rebecca James! Excuse me if I sound rude, but what on earth are you doing here?" He asked her, though the initial shock on his face was soon taken over by a surprised smile. Rebecca thought she could ask him the same question.

The last she heard of him was that he had taken an extended leave of absence from the constabulary to tend to some personal matters. This had happened soon after the case involving his sister and the other missing women of Toronto. To see him here living with Freddie Pink was surprising to say the least. However after the day she had, she figured she should have been used to surprises.

"Llewelyn!" Freddie said with a smile and rushed over give the Detective a kiss. He smiled back at her.

"I'll take it your day went much better than mine?" He asked.

"I didn't find anything helpful over at the station, but it seems you did." He commented, turning his attention back to Rebecca.

"I promise we will fill you in right away, but first, start packing anything you won't be needing tonight or tomorrow. It's time we head back to Toronto," she announced with a sparkle of excitement in her eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Detective Watts was standing outside in the cool night air, facing Station House #4. He had arrived only five minutes ago and was just in time to watch the constables from earlier drag Murdoch in, who still seemed to be anxiously trying to tell them something.

Ever since he began following Murdoch through the city, he knew what he had to do, and that was to get Murdoch out of the station and to the wear house- however he was still trying to figure out how to go about doing that. He doubted he could very much walk in there and be granted permission to speak with the Detective, at least, not with out someone there keeping an eye on them. Especially given his earlier encounter with Davis, he knew for certain he wouldn't be allowed to get into the cells alone.

He knew if he wanted to get Murdoch out of there, there was only one way to go about it. He had to get himself in and Murdoch out without being seen.

This wasn't exactly something he wanted to do, but he would have been fooling himself if he actually thought anything related to this case would be easy. Taking a deep breath, he walked across the street and into the small alley between the station and the neighboring building.

While breaking and entering wasn't exactly an easy job, he completely at a disadvantage. After working at the station for some time earlier in the year he knew his way around the entire building, and knew where there would be the easiest entrances and exits with the least amount of people. He also knew there were only two main entrances to the jail cells, which is where he was sure he would find Murdoch.

There was a back entrance that he could access from outside, but he knew they kept it nearly impossible to break into. He wasn't sure if trying to get in that way would be successful, or if it would only be a waste of time. The second way in would require him to already be in the station, which was risky, but risk was starting to become an irrelevant term.

Slowly, he walked around to the window that he knew would lead into the Inspector's office. Once he got there he tried to look inside, the windows of the station weren't the easiest to look through do to there foggy styled glass, but Watts couldn't see the shadow of anyone in the office. He started working at getting the window open and was able to pull himself inside relatively quickly, and was relieved to see the doors to the office were closed once he was inside. Even the blinds to the windows were down, it was as if the Chief Constable was trying to make the Inspector's absence obvious.

He sat against the wall for a moment, waiting to see if anyone had heard him and was coming to check the room. Luckily, the only sound he heard near him was that of his beating heart. Creeping over to the first door in the office, he locked it so no one would be able to have access to the space between the time he went to get Murdoch from the cells and bring him back. Next he made his way to the second office door, which he knew would give him a faster route to the cells.

Opening the door, he was beginning to make his way to the cells when he stopped a few steps behind the entryway. He could here voices coming from inside, and one of the voices sounded like Murdoch's, but he wasn't sure who the second voice belonged to. Wanting to know what was going on between the two men, he took a step forward, and stopped in his tracks when he heard what the other man was telling Murdoch.

 _At least one of you're loyal constables is dead._

No, it couldn't be, he must have heard wrong… Except he knew he hadn't. One of the constables was dead. One of Murdoch's constables, he had said, and from that alone it wasn't hard to narrow down who it could be.

He would have stayed there if he didn't here footsteps growing closer, and he quickly moved back to the office and closed the door until the footsteps passed. When he was sure it would be safe again, he opened the door and crept back towards the cells.

 _Here goes nothing…_ he thought.

X X X

"Here we are," Rebecca said, and as she and Brackenreid finally stepped into the wear house she could tell they were the first to arrive.

"Wonderful, now, how many others are supposed to meet us here?" Brackenreid asked her as he looked around. The space was almost empty, save for a few boxes left scattered near some walls. Moonlight poured through the large windows from up above, illuminating the space in a soft white light.

"Detective Watts and Freddie Pink, we were hoping to find you with Dr. Ogden and bring her here as well." Rebecca answered, and while it was only one sentence, it was the longest explanation Brackenreid had gotten out of her since they left the house. He couldn't blame her, they didn't want to say anything in the carriage ride over out of fear that what they say might get back to the wrong people, and before that she still seemed distracted from what happened.

"Ms. James, I really appreciate your help- you saved my life back there- and I know what you had to do was hard but I promise it was also the right thing to do given the situation." He started slowly, "However, I still don't know how you knew I'd be there, I didn't even know the three of you were involved. If you don't mind, could you fill me in?" He asked her softly.

Telling the Inspector the long story of her last two days was the last thing on her mind, but she knew no matter what she had done back at the house, she had to put it behind her for the time being if she ever wanted to help Detective Murdoch and Julia.

Slowly, she began her story, starting with the explosion in Chicago. While she was reluctant at first, the more she talked the easier it was to keep going. Soon she found herself telling him about finding the list of properties at his house and splitting up in hope of finding him and the Dr., and had to stop herself when she realized he knew the rest.

Brackenreid let out a long sigh, "Bloody Hell," he said and shook his head. "I saw them walking around that house all day, they must have only been doing so to trick anyone who might be watching. Dear god, what will we do if Pink or Watts can't find her now?"

"I don't know. To be honest we haven't known a lot about what happened directly in Toronto, the three of us have only had what I heard from Dr. Ogden to go on. What has been going on in Toronto since the Dr. and and I left?" Rebecca asked. Brackenreid took his turn explaining everything to Rebecca.

"It's all such a mess," she said, when she heard the front door open. Her and Brackenreid jumped up, only to be met with Dr. Ogden, limping in through the door.

"My god," she mumbled to herself as the two of them ran up to Julia. "What on earth happened?" She asked, but Julia's face only twisted in pain and she started leaning forward. Rebecca and Brackenreid each reached out for her and she practically collapsed against them, only to wince when she let go of her right arm and revealed what looked to be a bullet wound.

"Get her over there," Brackenreid instructed and nodded towards a pile of boxes near one of the walls, together they practically carried her over until she was sitting down and leaning against the wall. Her eyes were closed.

"How did you get here? Why didn't you go to the hospital?" Rebecca asked as she kneeled beside Julia.

"Freddie found me- told me to go… here…" she tried saying, and brought her left arm around to hug her right ribs.

"What happened when she found you, is she here?" Brackenreid asked, but she shook her head.

"She told me to go, there was a fight, Williams…" she drifted off again.

"We need to get you to a hospital, now." Rebecca said, but Julia shook her head again.

"No, back at the house... I was the reason Williams fell..." her voice was raspy, and Rebecca and Brackenreid looked at each other in concern as she fought to keep going. "Once they get there, and see Williams... they won't stop until they find me. The minute I go into the hospital they will find out, they will have men on me, and once I'm healed I'll just end up with them again." She said quietly.

"You need someone who can help you," Rebecca tried telling her but Julia interrupted.

"You can," Julia told her, but Rebecca shook her head.

"I've never had to do something this serious on a live patient before. And even if I had, I'll need at least some kind of equipment." Rebecca tried protesting, Julia was silent for a moment before asking,

"Where's William?"

"We don't know. Right now our biggest goal had been finding you and the Inspector," still using that title by habit.

"Hello?" Called another voice, it was Freddie. "Oh my god, Julia," she gasped and ran to the three of them as soon as she saw what bad shape she was in. "I'm so sorry, he attacked me and I was unconscious- what happened?" She asked.

"We fell down the ladder, is Williams-"

"Alive, yes. But he was hurt, badly. I doubt he'd be able to leave the house on his own," Freddie assured her. "Julia, I'm so sorry," she apologized.

"Don't be," Julia wheezed.

"Are the two of you alright?" She asked quickly, turning to Rebecca and the late Inspector.

"Yes, Ms. James came right in time. I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for her," he confessed and turned to her.

"I found him while Davis had a gun pressed to his head, I shot him- he's dead." Rebecca said with tears in her eyes as she told Freddie and Julia what happened.

 _Dead,_ all because of her.

"Oh, Rebecca," Julia said in sympathy and reached weakly for her hand. Rebecca took it but just as soon as she did she could feel it go limp, she glanced up to see Julia's eyes closed once more and her body lightly slumped to the side.

"No!" She cried and checked for a pulse, relieved when she felt it, weak, but still beating, under her sickly pale skin.

"Get her lying down," she instructed, and Brackenreid helped lie her across the boxes. Freddie saw a small rug sticking out of a box near by and quickly grabbed it, rolling it up to create a makeshift pillow for the Dr.

"She needs help, but I agree with what she said earlier. Bringing her out is a risk." Rebecca said helplessly.

"We're back." Called another voice, and the two of them turned around to see Watts- and Murdoch!- walking through the entrance. "Freddie," he said as he rushed up to her, thrilled to see that she was ok. The two embraced tightly and began talking quickly about what was going on.

"Murdoch-" Brackenreid started but he ignored him.

"Julia, no…" he cried when he saw her weak form lying across the boxes. He collapsed to the floor beside her, "is she…?" He began weakly but Rebecca quickly shook her head.

"No, she's alive. We need to get her help, but we are worried taking her to the hospital would put her in more danger of Graham and his men. "How did the two of you find each other?" Rebecca asked. Watts and Murdoch shared the story of how he helped sneak him out of the Station, and than it seemed all of them shared their stories until everyone was finally on the same page.

"I know there is a lot going on right now, but I just want to know about Jackson, Crabtree, and Higgins. I need to know who we lost," Watts said.

"Believe me, that's all I could think about since leaving the church. That and…" he drifted off as he looked down at his wife. "But I suppose we'll have to wait." Murdoch finished, his voice sad.

"Wait a minute, you might not have to. If we go to the hospital, someone can check on the constables and I can sneak in to the supply room and get what we need for Dr. Ogden." Rebecca exclaimed.

"I don't know about this…" the late Inspector warned the group. "Who would go and who would stay? Someone needs to remain with the Dr., after all." He pointed out.

"I will," Murdoch volunteered immediately. Rebecca got up from her spot beside Julia and William quickly filled it, reaching out to softly hold her hand.

"I need to go to get the materials," Rebecca said.

"I'll go too and find out everything I can about the constables. And on the way back if you don't mind, I think I should make a quick stop home to let my wife know I'm still alive." Brackenreid suggested.

"I'll go too, if something goes wrong it might not hurt to have someone else there with you." Freddie volunteered last.

"Perfect, can you stay here with the Detective?" Rebecca asked Watts.

"Alright, what do you need to get from the hospital?" Watts asked

"Just some medication to help with the pain, something to clean her wounds, and something to wrap around her arm, leg, and ribs. It's not perfect, but I think that's the best we can do for her given the situation," Rebecca explained, trying to stop her voice from shaking at the thought of what she would soon have to do.

"Alright then, to the hospital," Brackenreid said.

 ** _Hey guys, thank you so much for all the wonderful comments and support you have given for this story. This is definitely not one of my favorite chapters I have written, but I feel it was needed to help the story move along. I'll update soon with a better one, take care!_**


	7. Chapter 7

When he woke up, he didn't know where he was, or why he was there. All he could think about was the horrible pain that was centered in the side of his stomach and seemed to course through him when he tried sitting up. He would have given in to the pain if the need to know what was going hadn't overpowered him.

After a brief struggle he had propped himself up and was leaning heavily against the back of the uncomfortable bed he had awoken in, and he immediately tried to sort out his thoughts.

 _The church, Murdoch, the shots..._

He shuddered as these last memories replayed in his mind.

So, he was in the hospital, and miraculously survived the attack. _But had Higgins and Jackson been as lucky?_ He thought. He wished he could have gone to figure this out for himself, but the bullet wounds still hurt and his head had exploded into agony when he lifted it too fast in his fight to sit up.

Looking outside the window, he suspected it was late in the night, as he witnessed the bright moon and stars still lighting up the world below him, including the small room he had been confined to. He didn't know how long he sat there, only able to stare at the world beyond him and wonder what was happening to Detective Murdoch, Dr. Ogden, Higgins, and Jackson while he remained seated.

How long had he been in the hospital for? He couldn't tell if this was still the same night as the shooting or if he had been here for days, but he knew he wouldn't get his answers by sitting around on the stiff hospital bed. His head had started feeling better, and somehow he was getting used to the pain that remained in his torso.

George winced as he finally stood up and waited a moment for the world to stop spinning around him. When the dizziness passed he tried taking a step forward, and while the wounds still hurt, he was surprised at how easy the movement was. Slowly he walked across the room, trying his best to keep from twisting his stomach in any way. Finally, he let himself take a small break when he successfully made it across the room, he leaned into the door for support.

When he deemed himself ready to go again, he stepped out into the hall. Before he could be seen by someone and be sent back to his room, he peered into the room next to him, it was empty. Walking across the hall, he looked into the room across from his. There, lying in bed, was Jackson. He could tell he was awake, so he walked inside.

"George?" Jackson asked, as if he thought he could be imagining it. His voice came out so small and broken George could barely recognize it.

"Jackson," he replied, and as he took a step closer he could see that his face was a deathly pale.

"What are you doing here? You were shot, shouldn't you be-" he started, but was stopped by a horrible coughing fit.

"I was in the room across the hall but I just woke up. I wanted to come see if you and Higgins were alright," he explained, and Jackson nodded. "Henry, is he…" George began asking, almost wishing he didn't so he didn't have to here the answer. But to his relief Jackson said:

"He was rushed into an extra surgery, they took him in about an hour ago."

George looked at him with an eyebrow raised, "I woke up around the same time, when I asked about the two of you he said you were still sleeping and Henry was just being taken in. He's in bad shape... so am I," Jackson finished, George just looked down and sighed.

"I know it looks bad right now, but we are all going to get through this," He assured his friend, however the whole time he had been talking George was sure he appeared to be getting weaker and weaker. "Is it the same night?" He finally asked, Jackson nodded.

"George," he said, and George looked back at him. "They took Henry to surgery because they knew there was still a chance it could help him. If there was really nothing to do for him they wouldn't put him through something like that only for him to die."

George knew what he was saying. The reason Henry was in surgery and the reason Jackson was lying here was because while Henry was in bad shape he could be cured. George could see what horrible condition Jackson was in, he should have needed extra attention like Henry. But I found there was nothing that could be done to save him in the long run, they would spend extravagant time on he and Henry instead.

"From what the Doctors have been saying, it seems you were affected the least. You were lucky." Jackson told him, but that did not make him feel lucky. How could it, when he was being told that while two of his best friends were possibly sitting at their death beds, he was going to be just fine?

"I'm going to die, George." he finally said it outright, but he didn't say it with fear, or sadness, or any other emotion death was supposed to come with. He just said it as a fact, with an eerie calmness that made George want to go crazy.

"Jackson, you are not going to die. You are going to heal, and you are going to survive this and you are going to go home-," he said, but even he could here the doubt in his voice as he saw his friend lying there, his breaths growing shallower and shallower.

"Don't you see?" He asked quietly, "I am going home," he whispered, a bittersweet smile forming on his lips. George couldn't take it anymore, he moved closer to him and with each inch Jackson appeared to look worse.

"I'm going to miss you, Jackson," he finally said, and could feel tears slowly forming in his eyes. "We all will," he added.

"I'll miss all of you too," he said, his raspy voice breaking.

"Are you scared?" George dared to ask his friend, and after only a second to think about it, he replied.

"No, because where ever I go... I know I'll get to see Amy again…" he drifted off and smiled slightly at the thought.

 _Amy- his wife,_ George remembered.

The two sat in silence for a minute before Jackson turned painfully to face George. "Can you tell someone something for me?" He asked, and George could tell the end for him was growing near. He just nodded at his dying friend.

"Tell Detective Murdoch and Inspector Brackenreid it was an honor to serve for them. And if you ever see Detective Watts again, tell him that too, and that I'm happy I got to know him." He requested.

"Of course," George said instantly.

"And one more thing, tell Henry he was like a brother to me. Both of you were," he said.

"Jackson, you _were_ a brother to us."

"And if you ever see Ann Baxter again, tell her I'm so sorry we didn't have more time together," he finally requested.

"I promise, I'll tell them." He said. "I'll miss you. And you can be damn sure I'll never forget you," he said, Jackson smiled weakly in return.

"Thank you, but don't feel bad for me. I'll be with Amy again, Ay...mey..." Suddenly the room went silent, and George knew why. He looked down at his friend, who's eyes were now closed. He could see that he was still- too still- but that didn't stop him for desperately checking for a pulse that could not be found.

"No…" George said to himself, as he slowly let go of his arm and watched it drop limply down beside him.

 _I'm going home…_

George let the tears that had been growing in his eyes fall silently as he sat in the room, all alone. He thought of Jackson's dying wishes to him, the way he was so sure he would get to see his wife again, the way he passed so peacefully with her name on his lips.

Jackson was a good man, he did not deserve this. None of them had, but it was that thought that made George find the strength to walk back into the hallway with a plan forming in his mind. He was the one who had suffered the least from the attack, and he wouldn't let that miracle go to waste. He wouldn't sit here feeling bad about what happened when he could go stop more innocent people from suffering.

When he was in his own room again, he glanced around until his eyes stopped on the bedside table. Opening the drawer, he pulled out the clothes that he suspected he would find inside. He took out the wrinkled white shirt he had been wearing under his uniform, someone had definitely tried cleaning it for there was only the faintest mark of blood on it, but it was good enough. Next he retrieved his pants and quickly changed out of the hospital gown he had been wearing since he woke up.

Throwing on his boots, he began walking into the hall, and once more stopped in jackson's room. It was only so he could see his friend one last time, but soon he noticed something strange. The arm he had checked Jackson's pulse for had moved.

An eerie feeling crept over him for he knew that arm hadn't moved by its self, and if it was one of the doctors, surely they would be here preparing to take the body? Someone who didn't want to be seen had been in the room after George, and he had a feeling it was the shooter coming to see if he had done his job well.

Wanting to get out of the hospital as soon as possible, George began walking.

X X X

As Rebecca sat crouched in the dark room, throwing various medical supplies into a bag, she couldn't help but think of how much her life changed in not even two days.

Two days ago she wasn't breaking in to houses.

two days ago she wasn't stealing things.

Two days ago she had never killed anyone...

No matter how many people said she was doing the right thing, she could never get over what she had done.

Brackenreid had left her and Freddie almost twenty minutes ago in search of the Constables, and Freddie either been helping her collect materials or keeping a watch in the hall. Finally, Rebecca decided that she had enough things, and she headed outside to see Freddie.

"Are we done?" Freddie asked when she saw Rebecca exiting the room she had just been searching through.

"Yes, now we just need to meet the Inspector. Do you know where he is?" Rebecca asked, but before Freddie could answer they heard Brackenreid's voice as he rushed up to them.

"We just finished up here, how are they?" Rebecca said.

"They all got here a few hours ago, Higgins just got out of surgery but it looks like he's going to be okay. Jackson… hewasn't as lucky," He said, and all of a sudden was met with a wave of sadness. It felt like just days ago he was trying to get the lad arrested to stop him from competing against station #4 in a baseball game, and now he was just... gone. How could five years go by that fast?

"No, that's horrible…" Rebecca said and found tears forming in her eyes at the thought of Constable, remembering the time they spent together that year near Christmas. He was such a kind man, he didn't deserve this.

"I'm so sorry, it seems both of you knew him quite well," Freddie said, she had only known about him what she heard from Llewelyn.

 _Llewelyn,_ she thought and closed her eyes, remembering his fondness of Constable Jackson. _He's going to be devastated._

"Wait," Rebecca said, "what about Constable Crabtree?"

Brackenreid sighed, "He was doing fine the last time the Doctors looked at him, apparently he suffered the least out of the three of them." He said, but neither of the women could understand why he still sounded uneasy.

"Alright, but that's a good thing," Freddie said.

"Well it is, but he was still in bad condition, and it appears that he woke up and… left." The Inspector said, Rebecca's eyes widened.

"Left? I thought Detective Murdoch said their injuries looked serious, and that it would be amazing if they lived?" Rebecca asked, remembering when he told the rest of them about the scene he walked into at the church.

"Indeed, but it appears he thought he was no longer in need of assistance. Bloody Crabtree, he nearly died just this night and now he's frolicking around the city with his attackers on the loose!" He exclaimed. His earlier relief in hearing that at least Crabtree had survived was replaced by sudden anger.

 _Could he really do something so stupid?_ He thought. _Yes, yes he could._

"Where would he go?" Freddie asked quickly.

"My guess is to find Murdoch, but I don't think he would go to the station since as far as he knows Davis will be there. On the way back we can check his home," Brackenreid decided, and the three of them left.

X X X

Murdoch couldn't help be reminded of the previous year, as he sat by his wife's side and held her hand. "I'm so sorry, Julia," he whispered to her, if he had listened to the Inspector and looked the other way, she wouldn't be here trying to beat death… once again.

"Hey, she doing okay?" Watts asked, he had gone to walk around the building and check out their space, and had also wanted to give the Detective some time alone.

"The same," he answered, Watts nodded. However than his expression turned troubled and he started walking again, this time pacing.

"Are you alright?" Murdoch finally asked, Watts had found his way to the clutter of boxes and sat down on one near the other Detective.

"I guess I'm just anxious. I know Freddie can take care of herself, but with everything that's been going on..." he just shook his head and laughed humorlessly. "I never thought I would miss Chicago as much as I do now," he said.

For a minute, Murdoch had to remind himself not to be surprised when he heard him talk about Freddie like that, but he couldn't help it. It was strange seeing someone he knew as a child now- in love?- with the man he had been… _putting up with,_ for the past few months.

"I know how you feel, but don't worry- she can." Murdoch assured him, and Watts looked at him sideways.

"I would never underestimate her," Watts said, "but after what I've seen in the past few hours, neither would I underestimate the men who put you in this situation in the first place," he finished. "These people are dangerous, and no matter how strong we think we are, we've already lost one man. Almost more. They are no threat to take lightly," he said, his tone growing dark.

Murdoch didn't think he had ever agreed with him more.


	8. Chapter 8

Samuel Bloom was standing outside in the fading evening light, waiting for Constable George Crabtree to arrive. He was supposed to stop by the Autoshop to pick up part of his pay check after work and Sam was waiting for him. He knew Detective Murdoch meant a lot to George and that seeing him in this situation must not have been easy, so he decided to stay a little longer until George arrived just to see how he was doing.

Time passed, and yet the Constable was still not there. Sam wasn't worried, he knew anything could have caused him to stay at the Station House late- especially these days. Glancing up at the darkened sky and slowly rising moon, he gave up on waiting outside and pulled out his set of keys.

As he made his way into the indoor portion of the shop, he decided to make good use of his time and organize some of the tools they had lying around. Only once did he stop, and that was when he passed by the telephone. For a brief moment he thought of calling Nina, but than thought better of it. _She'll come around,_ he thought.

George still never showed up. Sam would have liked to believe he had just forgotten about the arrangement and would come pick up the money tomorrow, but after hearing about the recent events involving Murdoch and his wife, he found himself growing worried when the Constable never arrived.

 _You're over reacting,_ he just told himself, and began to close-up the shop for the second time that evening. The whole time, he couldnt help but think that not showing up was highly out of character for George- not that he would blame him given the circumstances.

Glancing at the clock one last time before leaving, he decided it wouldn't be too late to quickly stop by George's place and drop the money off. The shop wasn't far away from his home so the walk wasn't that long, and soon he was there and knocking on the door. However, instead of George answering, it just creeped open under the gentle pressure of his fist.

He felt fear slowly building inside of him as he took a step into the darkness, and after walking inside he could see a note pinned to the wall with what appeared to be a dagger. Stepping closer, heart beating, Sam pulled the dagger out and caught the note as it began gracefully falling to the floor. It read only one sentence:

 _Come alone to the corner of Aylmer and Bloore St. at 1:00 this morning or the dancer dies._

Sam dropped the letter in disbelief, he must not have read it right, he must have- except he knew what he saw. There was no use telling himself he didn't.

It didn't make sense, he didn't even know George and Nina were together again. _Unless it happened recently, and you just didn't know about it yet._ Sighing, he began walking back and forth.

Was George already there? Was that why he hadn't gone to the Autoshop?

No, he realized. This note was left for him at his home, the Autoshop was closer to the Station House than it was to here, so it would have made sense for him to stop at the shop first. Besides, wouldn't he have at least closed the door here, and taken the note off the wall to read it?

Something at work must have caused George not to show up, and he didn't even want to think about what. 1:00 was still a while away, but with nothing better to do, he decided to start heading there as soon as possible.

X X X

Checking his pocket watch as he walked around the quiet street, he decided he was finally able to go to the house. He tried going to the Station House to see George, and to his sister's place during the wait, but neither of them could be found. He didn't care that the note wasn't for him, he wouldn't let those people hurt Nina.

He went inside the house, and looked up at the beautiful staircase and upstairs hall. That was when he saw the man, clothed in all black, run out of a room and shoot twice.

Samual fell to the floor as both shots hit him, his body erupting into agony, and just as soon as his vision turned white it went black.

X X X

George was sitting in the back of a carriage heading to his home, but the constant rocking back and forth was making the pain worse with every second. They went over a bump and as his middle twisted, he had to bite down so hard on his lip to keep from screaming in pain he could taste blood.

He had grabbed a jacket off a hanger in the hospital to cover the slightly bloodied shirt underneath, and also to cover any bleeding that may occur if he reopened the wounds. He didn't want anyone at the hospital, or anyone he saw, to know how injured he was. He wasn't sure if it would be unsafe, showing himself to be an easy target.

Leaning against the window in pain, George suddenly realized the driver had taken the route that passed the street the Autoshop was on.

"Stop, please," he said to the driver and winced as he leaned forward when the carriage came to a halt.

Once he payed and thanked the driver he got out and walked the few feet to the shop, which was hard but still easier than being in the back of that carriage. He knew he would have to go home eventually but he just wanted to rest right now, and the shop had become like another home to the Constable.

George didn't have a key on him but that didn't matter, he and Sam always had a spare kept hidden outside. He retrieved it but when he went to unlock the door he realized there was no need to, them already was.

When he stepped inside he saw a figure walking around but he could hear them gasp when they realized they weren't alone. They started running but George flicked on the lights, and was relieved to find who the intruder was.

"Nina," he called and she stopped, turning around, he could see her worried expression lighten softly.

"George,"

X X X

Nina was at home, and usually she enjoyed her free time after a long day at work, however that wasn't the case since Lydia's death. She probably would have been with Lydia now. Now all the time she wasn't working or didn't have some kind of task to do, all she could think of was the absence of her best friend.

And of course she used to have George too, up until she thought that splitting up might be best for them. Of course, he had come to see her not long ago, but she still wasn't sure what it meant for them at this point.

Normally, she would have gone to the one person who had always known how to make her feel better since they were children: her brother, Sam. However she didn't think she could even do that right now, after the fight they had gotten into earlier. She closed her eyes and sighed and the thought of their argument, maybe she _had_ overreacted, just as he had told her.

Walking over to the telephone, she decided she should call and apologize, but he never answered. Suddenly a horrible feeling of loneliness built up in her chest, and she was surprised by how quickly she felt it threatening to suffocate her. _This is your own fault,_ she thought, starting to regret what she had said to him earlier.

Reaching out for the phone again, she telephoned George. She didn't know what his reaction would be, and she wasn't even sure what she was going to say, but her worries were stopped when he also failed to answer.

Somewhere, a memory tugged in the back of Nina's mind from earlier that day when she saw Sam at lunch. Something about him staying at the shop late tonight? She didn't know just how late he meant, but surely he should have been home by now.

A strange feeling started to fill Nina, and the need to hear at least one familiar voice was replaced by the strange sense of worry growing inside of her. She decided to blame it on everything that had happened in the last few days, but that did nothing to stop it.

Wanting to get out of her empty home, she decided to go to the Autoshop in hopes of finding her brother.

X X X

Upon getting there, Nina thought she would see the lights on and her brother somewhere in the shop, but dread hit her when she saw the building was dark inside. Sure, she could have just missed him, but for some reason Nina couldn't bring herself to believe that.

She walked up to the door but it was locked, and instead of being reasonable and realizing there could be plenty of reasons her brother and George hadn't answered her, she gave in to her rising panic and, with surprising success, picked the lock open.

Darkness and quiet greeted her, and all of a sudden Nina wanted to cry. Not long ago she had a best friend who she always thought of as a sister, George, the smartest, funniest, kindest, man she had ever met, and Sam, who had been there for her ever since they were children, and who had been the most caring brother she ever could have wished for.

And now when she needed them more than anything, they all felt so far away, and she felt responsible for some of it.

Suddenly the door opend slowly, and quiet footsteps echoed out. Fearing the worst, she started running for the back of the building when the lights turned on and temporarily blinded her.

"Nina," the voice said to her, and something in her chest lifted as she spun around and saw him standing there.

"George," she said, and began running towards him. She was about to embrace him when he stepped back and put his arm out. Suddenly Nina realized she must have seemed crazy, sneaking into his shop and now being so happy to see him, when they weren't even sure how they felt about each other. But than her eyes drifted to the slowly growing patch of blood that was visible between his jacket.

"George… what happened?" She gasped, looking up at him, but his eyes were squinted and he wore a pained expression. Gently, she reached out for his hand and when his eyes opened again he took it.

"It's a long story, but basically Jackson, Higgins, and I, went to a Church to secretly meet Detective Murdoch. However when we got there, there were men waiting for us and they shot us all. We went to the hospital, and when I woke up I found out Jackson died. I decided I didn't want to waste my time lying around in a hospital bed, and got out so I could find Detective Murdoch.

I was supposed to meet your brother here to pick up a paycheck after work, I thought I was just going to be a bit late when I got the note from Murdoch asking for help. Are you alright, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I'm fine, I couldn't get hold of you, and then I really needed to talk to Sam, so I came here but it was empty and I just got worried- George, I'm so glad you're alright. And Jackson… that's horrible. I'm so sorry," she said and squeezed his hand.

"Nina, I'm glad to see you too but you shouldn't be here. It's dangerous, we've already lost Jackson and I don't want to lose you too," he said.

"I know, I know... but you can't just go out looking for Detective Murdoch now, you're bleeding," she told him, and her heart beat began picking up again, how close had he come to death?

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," he told her through his pain.

"George-"

"Nina, I have to. I promise, I'll be careful," he said, but there was still something troubling her. "What is it?" He asked her.

"I found you, but I guess I was hoping I would find Sam too. Do you know where he would be?" She asked him.

"I have no idea." He answered and her face fell.

"I need to make a quick stop at my place before I go find Murdoch, and I'm not about to leave you here alone, so on the way there-" he tried saying, but grunted in pain when he twisted his torso.

Nina helped him sit down on a near by chair, and found what she hoped was a clean cloth to stop the bleeding. She passed it over and sat down across from him. "You'll have to stay here until that get's at least a little better," she said and nodded at the wound.

While they waited for George, he told her everything she didn't know about the case already. When George had stopped bleeding and thought he was alright enough to make the trip to his home, the two got up and began slowly making there way to the next stop.

Once again, George realized he didn't have a key, but while Nina was preparing to open it the same way she had back at the shop she realized it was already unlocked. The two looked at eachother,

"Someone was here," George whispered, who slowly opened the door the rest of the way.

"Look," Nina whispered and bent down to grab a piece of paper off the floor, and after reading it gasped.

"Oh my god… no…" she breathed out in shock, tears growing in her eyes at the words she was reading.

"What is it?" George asked and took the paper from her, his face falling when he read it. "My god…" he whispered and looked at the clock. "It's nearly 1:00 right now, Nina…"

"They- they think they would have found me by now right? Maybe they stopped looking…" she tried rationalizing through her fear.

"Or, someone went to that house who wasn't me." George said.

"Sam…" Nina barely whispered, before they heard others enter the home.

"Crabtree! What the bloody hell do you think you are doing sneaking out of the-" the Inspector started yelling as soon as he walked in and saw the Constable, but when he saw the looks on he and Nina's faces he stopped.

George and Nina quickly started telling them of what happened to them, about the note, and who they think went in his place.

"Crabtree, if this Sam already went in your place, I don't think you should go. You won't be helping anyone in your condition, I can go and check for her brother," he said.

"Sir, if I don't go... I don't want to think about what they would do. You can go, but I'm coming." He said.

"Wait, take me too." Nina said to both of them.

"No, it's too-" George started but she said,

"They have my brother. I don't there is any other place I should be going other than with you," she said.

Brackenreid usually would have put up more of a fight, but knowing there wasn't any time for that, he sighed.

"Fine, but these men are dangerous. You two better be careful, understand?" He said, they both nodded.

"Alright. Get back safe, Ms. James. We'll meet you and everyone else at the wear house as soon as we can." He said, before they left.


	9. Chapter 9

The carriage ride was silent.

George was trying to stay as still as possible in order to keep from reopening his wounds.

Brackenreid was lost in thought. If they were using Nina against Crabtree, was there a chance Margaret and the boys could be brought into this disaster?

Nina stared out the window, her mind never stopped thinking about Sam. What if they found him at the house? What if he was hurt... or worse?

Her last words to him rang in her ears, and she put her head in her hands, taking a shaky breath. How could this be happening?

"Alright- Crabtree, Ms. Bloom-" the Inspector started saying but as soon as the carriage stopped Nina couldn't think of anything except getting into the house. She flew outside, hearing the Inspector's footsteps close behind her. She was barely aware of his calling her name.

George was still trying to get out of the carriage, and he lagged behind due to his injury while Nina darted to the house with Brackenreid on her heels. Suddenly a shot sounded from the house, quickly followed by another.

"No!" Nina screamed at the sound, finally stopping as she stared with terror at the house in front of her. Brackenreid pushed past her at last with his gun drawn, he kicked open the door and shot at the upstairs hallway as he saw a man wearing all black running with his weapon.

"He's getting out the back!" Brackenreid yelled and started moving for the back of the house.

"Sam- Sam!" Nina cried as she walked inside and saw, lying on the floor, her brother. He had collapsed on his back and a dark red spot of blood could be seen near the base of his ribs. "No no no no no, Sam!" She cried and fell to the floor beside him. His eyes were closed, and the tears that had been growing in her eyes finally fell, blurring her vision.

"Sam, please…" she said before her tears cut off her off, watching as her brother lay in his own blood, breathing shallowly. Suddenly his eyes fluttered open, and he scrunched his face up in pain and lifted a shaky hand to his wound.

"Nina…" he tried saying, his voice weak.

"Shhh, it's okay." She comforted him, trying to appear calm. "Come on, we need to get you up so we can bring you to a hospital-"

"No," he protested in pain when she reached to help him sit up. "No, Nina. I can't… it hurts…" he practically whimpered.

"Oh Sam…" she whispered between tears, and gently brushed a strand of his hair from his face. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, I started it." He said quietly at the memory of their earlier disagreement, and tried smiling weakly for her. "You should be used to it, I've been starting fights since we were kids." He said, jokingly.

"Of course I remember, I always won," Nina said, and couldn't help but smile lightly at her brother.

"Really? I seem to remember it differently," he whispered, the smile still on his lips but it slowly grew harder to hold.

"Please Sam, don't give up, don't go..." she begged, turning serious once more.

"I'm not giving up, Nina. I just know it's getting harder to stay," he told her with painful honesty.

"Why would you come here? Why?" She asked him, frustration flowing through her veins.

"Because- as shocking as it may be, I love my little sister." He answered, lightly teasing. "You know I would do anything for you," he whispered, taking her hand.

"I'm so sorry, Sammy, I'm so sorry," she cried. She didn't think she called him Sammy since they were children.

"This was my choice, and no one else's." He told her. "But I'm sorry too," he whispered.

"Sam," she breathed, he nodded. "I love you, I couldn't have asked for a better brother." She told him sadly.

"I love you too, sis," he said.

"Nina?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Nina, you have to make it right," he said, and tears started growing in his eyes- either from regret or pain, she would never know. She swallowed, memories of their fight flashing through her mind.

"Don't worry, Sam. I will, I promise," she said.

"And listen to me, no matter what those men wanted to do to you- you will survive. You never deserved a fate like mine, Nina. When I'm gone, you have to leave this place as soon as you can. You get somewhere safe, and don't look back. Alright?" he asked, and when Nina remained quiet he asked with more energy, " _Alright?_ "

"Of course, Sam," she said, and he visually appeared to relax as he nodded his head, and then went still...

"Sam, Sam…" she shook him and yelled his name. No answer.

"No, no no no," she cried. "Come back, come back, come back!" She cried, turning hysterical. After sobbing loudly for only a moment, she whispered, "I'll make it right, I promise." Kissing his cheek, she pulled herself up.

That was when she realized it was just the two of them- just _her_ \- in the house.

"George, Inspector!" She called and ran outside, running across the wide backyard until she could see their silhouettes growing closer.

"Bloody hell! He got away!" The Inspector was yelling angrily. Both turning to her as soon as they heard her approaching footsteps, George asked-

"Nina, is he…" Nina shook her head, for she didn't trust herself to speak.

"My god... Nina, I'm so sorry," he breathed, thinking of Sam as he embraced her lightly.

 _How could he have lost Sam and Jsckson in less than a day?_

"Ms. Bloom, my condolences," the Inspector said, and Nina separated herself from George as she wiped her eyes.

"Sir, there's something you should know," George started slowly, now that they both knew Sam's fate.

"What is it?" He asked,

"The man- the man who killed Sam… I've seen him before," George revealed.

"Where," he asked, Nina's eyes had grown wide as she listened intently.

"He approached Louise Cherry and I at a restaurant the other night, he whispered something to her and she left with him and another man," he finished quietly.

"Dear god… do you think she's involved?" He asked.

"I don't have any reason to believe she's not," he admitted.

"Alright, we'll deal with that later, first we need to leave. They might come back," Brackenreid warned the Constable and dancer.

"Wait, Sam-" Nina got chocked out but was stopped.

"I'm sorry, Nina, " George whispered softly. "I'm so sorry, he didn't deserve this- and neither did you. But we have to leave, because you know he wouldn't want you to end up like him," he finished.

 _When I'm gone, you have to leave this place as soon as you can. You get somewhere safe, and don't look back. Alright?_ Alright?

"Alright, let's go," she said.

X X X

"Don't worry, Detective, she should be waking up any time now," Rebecca reminded Detective Murdoch.

She had finished her work on Julia maybe five minutes ago, and even though she told the Detective she would be alright he was still worried about the fact that Julia remained unconscious.

Somehow Rebecca thought it had more to do with memories of the year before- waiting as she slept and fought for her life for days on end in the hospital- that was making him panic so much this time around.

"Right." He said at last, and nodded. "Thank you, Ms. James, I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't been here." He told her, and she smiled lightly.

"Thank you, Detective," she said. "As soon as we get out of here though, she really should get checked over at a hospital," Rebecca informed him.

"How is she?" Watts asked before Murdoch could respond, as he and Freddie entered the makeshift hospital space. Detective Murdoch had wanted to stay with Julia while Ms. James worked on her, and Freddie and Watts decided to leave and give Ms. James some space while she did her work

"Better," she answered.

"We're back," Called Brackenreid as he, Nina, and George, walked in.

"George," Detective Murdoch said in astonishment when he saw the Constable so easily moving about. While Freddie had told him about the Constable's miraculous recovery, he still couldn't believe he was standing- _walking_ \- in front of his eyes. Just hours ago he wasn't sure he'd ever see him again. For the first time that night, Detective Murdoch strayed from Julia's side to greet George.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you're alright." He said, and then began apologizing. "I'm so sorry, you wouldn't have been in that church if it weren't for me, and Jackson-" he was stopped by a sudden wave of emotion. Swallowing, he said, "I'm sorry I've put you all through this," to everyone with him.

"Sir, the last thing Constable Jackson said about you was that it was an honor to serve for you- and you too, Sir-" he said, turning to the Inspector. "He knew you never meant for this to happen, we all know," George reassured the Detective.

No one spoke for a moment, and it almost felt like a small tribute to those they had lost.

However, knowing that they didn't have much time, George soon took it upon himself to tell everyone what had happened to Nina, Brackenreid, and he.

"Louise Cherry?" Detective Murdoch asked in shock, George nodded in response, feeling somewhat hurt.

It was one thing to think that he and Louise just hadn't been right for eachother, but it was another to realize she could possibly be working for the same men who were after Detective Murdoch.

"Wait- so in total, we know about six people who have been working against us; Davis, Williams, Graham, Louise Cherry, and the two men she was with." Watts said.

"Yes, but now Davis and Graham are dead. So that leaves Williams and the other three." Murdoch said.

"In America we were tracking a long line of murdered city officials, all following roughly the same pattern. We suspected there were men traveling through the states who were hired killers- hired by other city officials to eliminate their partners and competition.

The day of the explosion in Chicago, I was at the train station because we believed a politician who had been present at a shooting just days before was the next victim. I thought I would be able to find the killer, except while I was looking for someone with a gun they had already set off the bomb. So instead I found Rebecca James." Freddie explained.

"So Williams, Graham, and Davis, hired these men not to kill Dobbs, but to come after us and Hall when we got to close to exposing them." Detective Murdoch said.

"And Louise Cherry would stay in contact with these men, writing articles that put the blame of their murders on innocent people. It was brilliant," Brackenreid finished.

"So if those three were just working for him, Williams is the one we need to get to in order to find the evidence you need," Watts finished, looking at Murdoch.

"If only I was able to join in," sang a voice from behind them, and everyone turned around.

"Julia?" Murdoch breathed when he saw her awake, and she gave him a smile.

"Hello, Detective," she said, and he flew to her side.

Taking her hands in his, he kissed her softly and whispered, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea this would happen, and when I thought I might loose you-"

"William Murdoch, believe me when I say it would take a lot more than _this_ to ever loose me. Look at all we've been through! James Gillies, Eva Pierce- and now this! But it's only one another chapter in our story, and now you need to go get whatever evidence you need from Williams so we can move on to a better one," Julia told her husband.

For the first time in days, he was purely confident he could defeat Franklin Williams.


	10. Chapter 10

"Alright, where would Williams, Graham, or Davis hide the evidence?" Murdoch asked as he, Brackenreid, Watts, Freddie, and Rebecca, prepared themselves to finish Williams twisted game- and win.

Julia wished she could go with all of them, but since she could barely sit up without needing assistance she knew there was no way she would be facing Williams tonight.

George didn't want to be left out either, but he knew he would just keep everyone behind if he went, and would be the easiest target out of the group. It would be easier for them if he stayed behind.

That left Nina, who opted to stay. She didn't know how to use a gun- and since all the others did, she was sure she would be at a disadvantage if they ran into trouble. Plus, she was still in shock after loosing Sam, and didn't think she would be very helpful at the moment.

"So far these unowned properties have been playing a big part in their scheme. Almost every event they have orchestrated took place in one of the houses." Freddie pointed out.

"Than would they really think hiding the evidence in one of them to be a good choice? They may be arrogant, but they still must know they aren't going up against a bunch of idiots. Bloody hell, it could be anywhere in the city!" The inspector exclaimed.

"Wait a minute- Jarvis Street, Bloore Street, and Wellesley, are three of the locations the properties were on, right?" Murdoch asked, an idea slowly forming in his mind.

"Yes," Watts answered, wondering what he was getting at.

"Those Streets are all connected to each other, and I'm not sure that's just a coincidence," Murdoch started explaining quickly.

"What are you getting at?" Brackenreid asked, still not looking happy.

"Was anything ever mentioned about a house on, er- Parliament Street?" Murdoch asked, ignoring his question. While Rebecca, Freddie, and Watts, shook their heads, George asked:

"Parliament Street?"

"Yes, George," Murdoch said, knowing he had something to share.

"Sir… Louise Cherry lives on that Street." He said.

"Together those Streets create the perimeter of a rectangular shape of land. I believe they stationed someone at each of the houses to keep anyone from getting into that area of land. It's as if they were guarding something," Murdoch said in wonder, they had figured it out!

"Do you think that's where they are hiding the evidence?" Rebecca asked.

"Right now, it's our best guess," Freddie said.

"Alright, does everyone have something they can use to defend themselves?" Brackenreid asked, and they all nodded.

"Alright, then let's get down there so we can be done with this once and for all," Murdoch said in a determined voice.

X X X

Detective Murdoch went in first, with Rebecca, Freddie, Watts, and Brackenreid following close behind. They had gotten in from the corner of Jarvis and Wellesley and made there way through the grassy area. The lights of the city dimmed as they grew closer and closer to the middle of the rectangle.

"Is that…" Murdoch began as they neared a box shaped contraption sitting on the floor.

The closer they got to it, he realized it was the recording device that had been taken from his home after the murder. With his heart beating, he bent down and turned it on. Soon a crackling sound filled the night around them, and then there was Lydia Hall's voice. Muffled from being aa room away from the device, but you could still hear her voice as she told Murdoch about Dobbs' death.

Soon his voice jumped in as they began talking, but it didn't last for long. Soon Murdoch's voice got cut off and he could hear the impact of himself falling, Lydia's screams echoing through the night.

Her last breaths as she was strangled.

The voices of Williams and Graham in the background.

Detective Murdoch didn't know when the tears in his eyes got there, he only noticed them as they silently slid down his face.

The memories from that night were never clear, it felt more like scenes from a nightmare than a memory. But here it was, proof that that night was real.

Proof that he didn't kill her.

Proof that he couldn't save her.

Soon the recording stopped, and the world turned silent once again. In the quiet peacefulness of early morning, William Murdoch knelt in the grass, crossing himself and silently sending a prayer to the dancer.

"Well, well, well, how touching." Williams' voice sneered, making the Detective jump up.

"You, you won't get away with this!" He yelled angrily, pulling out his gun and pointing it at the man.

"Go ahead, Detective. Shoot me. _Kill me._ See if that makes you feel any better, see if it brings back the dancer… see if it brings back your faithful constable," he said, and Murdoch felt his heart skip a beat at the unfairness of the situation. "You know I'm right, you won't shoot-"

Watts raised his gun:

"Maybe I will," he spat at the man responsible for Jackson's death. However in an instant another man- one of the ones working with Louise- silently appeared and pressed a gun to the side of Freddie's head. Her eyes grew wide, but she didn't move.

"You will not use a gun on me, unless you want your friend here to end up like Constable Jackson." Williams said with a smirk.

"If you hurt her, you're going to _wish_ I had used a gun when I'm finished with you," Watts said with pure hatred as he set the weapon down beside Murdoch's.

Rebecca looked at Brackenreid, knowing they had to do something. _Not yet,_ he seemed to tell her with his eyes.

Soon a second man walked in, and beside him was Louise Cherry. She wore an icy smile as she strode past Rebecca and Freddie with a gun in her hand.

"Why hello again, Detective Murdoch. It appears you are in a bit of a sticky situation here, so let me ask: where ever is George Crabtree? Did your obedient lilt puppy dog finally bail on you?" She asked with mock sweetness.

"George Crabtree nearly died because you and all these men insist on hurting innocent people, and he risked his own life trying stop you!" Murdoch yelled.

"Careful, Detective. Or George may not be the only one to get hurt."

At the moment when all eyes were Murdoch and Williams, Rebecca looked at Brackenreid and he nodded. Rebecca looked at Freddie and yelled duck right as Brackenreid pulled out his gun and with perfect aim, shot the gun that had been in the man's hand. Freddie rolled to the floor and pulled out her own weapon, shooting the man in the side. He fell to floor, his breathing turning uneven.

Detective Murdoch tried punching the man that had entered with Louise, and just as he ducked to avoid Murdoch's fist, Watts brought his knee to the man's face. He staggered back just as Williams finally pulled out his own gun.

He tried to fire at Murdoch but he ducked at the exact same time Rebecca snuck up behind Louise as she tried pulling her gun out, and shoved her behind Murdoch. The bullet hit her square in the shoulder.

Louise dropped her gun and Brackenreid grabbed it, meanwhile Watts picked up his gun and hit the man he had kneed in the face hard in the head. The man lost consciousness and fell to the ground right as Murdoch and Brackenreid both shot at Williams upon seeing him aiming his gun at Freddie.

Murdoch's bullet went into his knee while Brackenreid's missed, and the bullet he had been aiming at Freddie went astray and flew into the distance. Watts shot at Williams in the same second he was falling, and hit the arms he carried his gun with. The object flew out of his hand and Murdoch kicked it away before he could grab it.

They all turned around, looking at each other, equally shocked that none of them had been hurt.

"It's over," Murdoch breathed, and the words sounded foreign on his tongue. When silence answered him, he said again, "It's over." With a lightness in him he hadn't felt in days.

"No, it's not," said a voice from behind them, and they turned to see Louise Cherry. She had gotten up and was holding the gun Murdoch had kicked away from Williams, she was shaking all over and her wound still bled- but if she was in pain se didn't show it. A crazed look had come over her, and her eyes looked wild. However instead of pointing her gun at anyone in Murdoch's crew, she pointed it at a Williams.

"Louise, what on earth?" He cried with as much force as he could, but she just laughed lightly.

"This is what I swore I would do the minute I agreed to help you. I told myself I would wait for the right time, but since this is the last chance I'll probably ever get- I'll take it. Did you really think I was an _idiot?_ That I wouldn't figure it out?" She asked in the same eerily calm tone.

"Figure what out?" He asked, trying desperately to get up but he couldn't move.

"How could you let my father do that to my mother? How could you?" She cried, turning hysterical. "How could you be so oblivious to the life of your brother?"

"A-Albert is your father?" He asked in disbelief.

Not answering, she just stared at him. "Goodbye, Franklin Williams, this is for my mom!" She yelled, and shot at him.

Everyone could only watch the scene play out, frozen in shock and bewilderment as Louise Cherry finally dropped the gun and collapsed to her knees, where she cried until finally exhaustion and pain brought her into unconsciousness.

"What the bloody hell was that!" The Inspector exclaimed.

"I don't know, but we need to get out of here. I'll bring that," he said pointing to the recording device. "When we get out there we need to call Constables to come pick up the bodies, and get Ms. Cherry into custody." Murdoch said.

"So what do we do now that we have the evidence to claim you are innocent?"

"Well, I would say see the Chief Constable but we don't have one at the moment. We need to show it to someone of high authority, though." Murdoch said.

"Well, than it's a bloody good thing you saved our Mayor's life not long ago. He commented on your running from the law, you know. Something tells me he'd be interested in seeing this," Brackenreid said and nodded to the recording device.


	11. Chapter 11

After Constables had been called to the scene, it was confirmed that out of the six criminals trying to frame Murdoch and his friends- the only survivor was Louise Cherry. She had been taken to a hospital to get her shoulder looked at, but the minute they deemed her stable she would be taken into custody.

As for Murdoch, Watts, Brackenreid, Rebecca, and Freddie, they were officially taken into police custody. Murdoch- for running from the law, and breaking and entering, and everyone else for helping a criminal. However, now that they knew Murdoch had the evidence to prove himself innocent, they were too happy that they were finally safe to be overly concerned with their arrest.

Murdoch handed over the recording device to the Constables, and told them that there were more people with them waiting at a wear house when asked. Once they got there, a new Detective from Station House One met them, and the group of eight gave a lengthy explanation about everything they had done and everything that had happened.

Nina was to be taken into custody for the remainder of the night as well, but George and Julia were sent to the hospital to get checked further. The remaining six were brought to the Station House One, where they would stay for the remainder of the night.

Having worked there for so long, Watts thought the whole situation would be quite strange- seeing as everyone he used to work with would be wondering why on earth he was now in their jail cells. However, to his relief- it wasn't half bad.

When he got to his cell, a cell he had put countless real criminals into, he just stretched out on the cot, lying on his back with his arms beneath his head, and sighed happily.

"You seem awfully comfortable for someone who was just arrested," Murdoch observed, who was in one of the cells next to him.

"I know; we finally found the evidence needed to exonerate you, I am quite certain we don't need to worry about being killed in here, and despite everything… this place still kind of feels like home," he admitted.

"Lucky you," Brackenreid mumbled sarcastically."

Freddie lay down, knowing she should try to get sleep, but somehow couldn't. She thought of Watts' words, _this place still kind of feels like home,"_ he had said. So where was his home now, while he joined her on the jobs that could lead anywhere north or south of the border?

X X X

The next day, the six talked further to the Detective and Inspector of Station House One, and after interviewing all of them, Detective William Murdoch was exonerated from the murder of Lydia Hall.

While that was one small relief, he didn't feel the happiness he was expecting too. Lydia was still dead, and it was his fault. Samual Bloom was dead, Jackson was dead, and George, Henry, and Julia were all off in the getting treated because he couldn't look the other way.

Later that day, George and Julia were released from the hospital. They were taken to the Station, and while George looked almost fine, Julia's arm was wrapped up and so was her leg under her skirt. She was also confined to a wheeled-chair while her leg was healing, which anyone could tell she wasn't happy about.

After their arrival, Murdoch, Brackenreid, and George, went to the Mayor's office along with the Detective and Inspector from Station House One. Normally, the fate of the coppers' jobs would be for the Chief Constable to decide. Since that option was clearly wasn't going to happen, the Mayor was next on the list.

The Mayor was reluctant to even think about giving the three of them their jobs back, despite the time Murdoch saved him, and all the times he was made out to be a city hero. In his eyes, they never should have went below the law- even though they most likely would have ended up dead otherwise.

However, it appeared the news of Murdoch's run from the law had not just to the Mayor, but also to most of Canada's Government officials, including none other than _Terrence Meyers,_ who made an unexceptional appearance at their meeting with the mayor. While he agreed punishment was mandatory for the policemen, he also, surprisingly, persuaded the Mayor not to be to harsh on them. In the end, while all three suffered from temporary job suspension, they knew they would be getting their jobs back eventually.

"Thank you, thank you so much," Murdoch said to him as he shook his hand.

"Yeah well... you didn't ask for all of this to happen to you, and you have yet to let me down. You three are good coppers, and you make an excellent team. Just remember, you owe me Murdoch," he said with a tone that would have concerned him on any other day.

X X X

Jackson's funeral had just ended, and for those who had attended Sam's, it was the second funeral they had attended in two days.

While everyone was sad, there was something undeniably peaceful about the day. The sun was bright in the sky, and the spring weather made the scene at the graveyard somehow... beautiful.

George, who had spoken earlier, couldn't help be reminded of how at peace Jackson had been with his unfair fate. He couldn't help but think it was because of his wife, Amy, and George smiled sadly.

Jackson had loved her dearly, and after years of being separated, they were together once more.

"Ms. Baxter?" He asked, when he saw the woman Jackson had recently become involved with.

"Constable Crabtree, it's wonderful to see you again, I just wish it were under different circumstances," she said sadly, tears glistening in her eyes.

"As do I, I'm sorry your time with him was cut so short." He said.

"Thank you, and I'm sorry for you as well. You must have been good friends," she said.

"Indeed we were... I was actually there when he died." He finally said, and she turned to him.

"Oh?" She asked, her voice breaking.

"And he- he wanted me to tell you that he was sorry you two wouldn't have more time together," he finished softly, and a tear slips down her cheek.

"He knew he wasn't going to make it?" She whispered.

"He knew," George told her, and she just nodded. "Listen, I know you knew about his wife, but what you might not know is you were the first girl he opened up to again after her death. What he felt for you... it was real. I just think he'd want you to remember that," he said, tears growing in his eyes as well.

Despite everything, the Constable's words brought a faint smile to her lips.

"I'll remember," she said.

X X X

Nina was pacing, she knew she had to honor her promise to her brother and tell George the truth she had been keeping from him... but she had no idea how.

"Nina, I got your message," he said when he arrived and embraced her, however Nina quickly pulled away. "What's wrong?" He asked, slowly growing concerned.

"It's a long story, you might want to sit down," she said, and they made their way to a bench near by.

"The day Sam died, we got into an argument about something that happened in the past," she started slowly. "You know we were raised on a farm in Manitoba, and came here when we were older to start new lives?" She asked him, reciting the small bit of her past she had shared with him. He nodded. "Well, we did grow up there, but we didn't move here when we were older. I ran away when I was fifteen," she said, and his eyes widened.

"My father died, and my mom remarried a horrible man because our family was going through financial troubles. That man was cruel, and my mom was so broken after the death of our father she didn't notice the things he did to Sam and I.

He had hurt both of us, but it was always worse for me. Sam helped me get money I needed so I could leave, and said he would come a few months later to find me. We were going to start new lives in Toronto.

However finding each other grew to be a challenge, and I didn't get in contact with him until last year when his early life of crime caught up to him and he was taken to the Don Jail.

As for me, I lived on the Streets until I was seventeen. I was cold and starving one night, and I was in an allyway near the Star Room. Lydia found me and snuck me back with her so she could get me some food and something warm to wear. If she didn't find me, I don't know how much longer I would have lived.

Anyway, we started talking and we just seemed to get along so well. She let me stay inside that night, and in the morning she didn't want me to go back to the streets and to the state she found me in.

She instead helped me get cleaned up and introduced me as a cousin to her boss, and asked if there was a way I could get a job there while I was new in the city. I started out by clearing the tables during performances, and a year later became a dancer. I owe my life here to her," she said, tears in her eyes.

"Dear lord, I had no idea..." He whispered.

"Sam thought what we did was wrong and we should have stayed at home, we shouldn't have abandoned our mother. I said that while I felt bad, we did the right thing. We got into a really big argument about it, but in the end there was still something we agreed on: we needed to see our mother. When he died, I promised him I would make it right," she explained.

"So, you're..."

"I'm going back to Manitoba. I'm going to try my hardest to fix what is left of our family, I'm going to have to find a new job- but dancing wouldn't last forever anyway." She said. "I'm sorry George, I don't want to leave you, or leave what we could have had... but I know I'll regret staying here more." She said apologetically.

Of course he was upset, but what she was saying was right.

"I'll miss you, Nina," he told her, "I hope everything works out for you," he said.

"And to you as well. Goodbye, George," she whispered and kissed him on the cheek.

X X X

"I'm so sorry, Llewelyn," Freddie whispered, as she saw him standing near the window, tears in his eyes.

"Me too," he said. "They offered me Detective Position at Station House Four while Murdoch is on suspension, possibly for longer," he told her.

"Llewelyn, it's your life-"

"I declined." He told her, she looked down and bit her lip. "I just thought, we'd start traveling again and-"

"Llewelyn, I don't want you to throw away the life you belong in for me," she whispered, finally voicing her fear, but he just looked at her.

"Freddie, my life here was never the one meant for me. I felt lost, never knowing what to do, but that stopped when I met you... when I fell in love with you," he told her breathlessly.

He had never said he loved her before.

"Love?" She asked.

"Love," he said, and then turned to take her hands. "I love you, Freddie Pink."

"And I love you, Llewelyn Watts," she said before he bent down to kiss her.

X X X

It was right before sunrise, but William Murdoch couldn't sleep. Instead he got up quietly, not wanting to wake his wife, only to hear her whisper as he stood up,"you too?"

"The dreams..." he said and shook his head, sitting back down beside her.

"I know," she whispered, Graham's face still in her mind.

You know what's crazy, it feels like everything that we've been through for almost the last ten years has just been building up for this moment. It feels like this is just some horrible... _ending,_ to everything that we've gone through." He explained, not knowing if he was making any sense.

"Oh William, this may be the end of one story- but after every end we just go back to a new beginning," she told him.

"If that's so, than I don't care about whatever comes next... as long as you're there with me," he said, and she smiled.

"That sounds perfect," she whispered into his chest, and together they lay in eachother's arms- holding eachother until the light of day broke through the darkness.

 _The End_

 _ **Thank you so much to everyone who supported this story, you have no idea how much it meant to me! I hope you all enjoy the premiere as much as I just did, and I will definitely be back with another story soon! Take care!**_


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